...

From somewhere beyond the infinite emptiness Twilight could feel a gentle rocking sensation. There was nothing, no sounds, shapes, visions – just darkness and the soft, soothing back-and-forth motion. Yes. It was... nice. She thought. There was something else about it all. Something that made her feel... odd. She couldn’t help but feel that something was off – something didn’t seem right. At all. And she knew it. She gradually became aware that the gentle rocking was growing in intensity. Something wasn’t right. On top of this she was quickly becoming aware of a constraining, unpleasant feeling around her forehooves.

Quickly the odd feeling evolved into a deep anxiety and it consumed her. She tried to focus on other calmer things but found no luck. The gentle rocking had grown too intense. Anxiety turned into a fear, a fear turning into an fiery panic as she saw three men attacking her and Fluttershy—

She and Fluttershy were both tied up by their forehooves against a guard rail in what looked to be a lower cabin of a ship. It was a small, dimly-lit room which was seemingly used for storage; there were small crates everywhere around them. As everything came into focus, Twilight fought off her pounding headache and present nausea, looking to her left. There lay Fluttershy. She herself appeared to still be out cold, but breathing... At least the two were together.

It took Twilight a while to fully come around, but eventually she was able piece together exactly what had happened. The memory came flooding back as soon as it clicked. She was out drinking with Fluttershy when she’d overheard the three men discussing going to Site B. To Isla Sorna. In a moment of desperate panic the two ponies had followed the men, but been given away when on the telephone to Levine. A fight ensured, but the humans had won out: They had been drugged, and they had been kidnapped.

...

When she was satisfied that she’d calmed down enough, she opened her eyes. She sat there, numb to the entire situation. The gravity of it all hadn’t yet hit, and she knew that all too well. Twilight feared the inevitable breakdown that would occur when it finally did arrive...

From her left came a soft whimper. It was enough to attract Twilight’s attention; she went to turn, Fluttershy letting out a gasp as she did.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. She went to say something, anything, cry, scream... She opened her mouth only to close it again. There were no words for the situation the pair were in. Blinking once, twice, she hung her head in silence.

“I’m scared,” came her hollow reply. The emptiness in her voice was enough to knock Twilight out. She felt defeated; her eyes began to sting. Silently, she moved closer, nuzzling her friend’s neck.

Even if she didn’t fully believe herself, she had to be strong for her friends. For Fluttershy.

****

“Land ahoy!” came a cry from on deck. It was followed by the sound of numerous footsteps moving to and fro as crewmembers readied for arrival.

Twilight and Fluttershy had remained in silence; there were no words that needed to be said. Instead they lay there in quiet contemplation of what had occurred and what was about to occur. It was finally happening. Twilight was about to see, first-hand, the dark secret that the governments of Earth had been keeping under wraps for over a decade. She was to witness InGen’s scientific breakthroughs in the wild, left to their own devices. She thought it’d make for a marvellous, breath-taking moment when she would first lay eyes on the animals but she now feared it’d be a harrowing if not dangerous moment: neither Twilight nor Fluttershy knew what Dodgson had planned when he would encounter the creatures. Kill them? Capture them or their young? Take eggs?

Without any prior warning they were dragged from their thoughts as the main cabin door swung widely open, the friends wincing as sunlight poured in. Once their vision returned fully they beheld a man who stepped into the cabin, removing his shades and a bush hat. Though not particularly tall or well-built he carried with him a sense of authority and self-importance: instantly they recognised him as Lewis Dodgson – ringleader of the trio that had been spying on Levine, and the man who had captured them back in Santa Fe.

“Let me ask you a question,” Dodgson said coldly as he entered. “Why the fuck were you two spying on me last night? Did Levine set you up to it?”

Twilight felt a stinging rage boiling within as the man spoke, something she sought to control through sharp professionalism. Exploding at him would do no good. “We are here on Earth as official Equestrian representatives,” she began, holding her most official tone and presence that she could muster. “You must be aware that by kidnapping us, you could easily jeopardise relations between—”

“Jesus, spare me the bullshit,” Dodgson barked loudly. Twilight was taken aback by his complete disregard for her. She hadn’t expected to be brushed off quite so simply.

“Look,” Dodgson continued, “I know you’ve been working with Levine to find Isla Sorna and when I found you both outside of my apartment, well... I saw a chance to take action. To do something about the situation. You see, I’m a man of opportunity. I spied an opportunity back in August 1993. I’m also a man to make his plans fool-proof – particularly after Nedry proved to be a useless piece of shit.” He gnashed his teeth. “When I saw you both there outside of my flat, I knew you’d be coming with me and not Levine. Firstly, as I could make sure you didn’t go reporting us to the authorities. To be honest I would have preferred it if you’d not told Levine that we were keeping tabs on him... Ah well. He knows now.

“I’m going to visit every nesting site on this island, and take two eggs from each. In the meantime, there will be adult dinosaurs we need to work around. We have of course already thought of this – one of my team has brought along a sonic weapon which should confuse the bigger ones. However, I imagine live bait would act as ample distraction for some of the larger theropods.” He grinned and left a pause, allowing his words to sink in.

“Lewis, we need you up on deck. We’re docking in five,” came a voice from beyond the doorway. He muttered a response before turning back to the pony duo.

Neither pony spoke in the wake of what they’d just been told. There was, once again, nothing to say. Both had been more shaken by Dodgson than they’d expected to be; Twilight had thought she’d be able to work around him – truthfully, a part of her had thought he’d be a little less imposing than he was. But his short presence had shown them both that he was a cunning, quick-minded man who didn’t waste his time or his words. He had sown the seeds of worry in each of them; any shreds of confidence they had before were reduced to a hollow, numb fear.

In their silence they could hear calling and shouting from above and could feel the boat rock to and fro. After a short moment there was a jolt, and then the boat moved no longer. The strained cough of its engine stopped. The crew yelled at each other and amidst the chaotic footsteps and hollers a jeep engine came to life, meaning only one thing: they had finally reached Isla Sorna, though far from the way Twilight had anticipated arriving.

It was some time before the cabin door swung open once more. Dodgson stepped inside, followed by a crew of four – one of whom had a sizeable rifle readied, trained in the direction of Twilight and Fluttershy.

“This is Roland Tembo,” Dodgson said, putting a hand on the rifleman’s shoulder. “He’ll be looking after you during our little adventure. And by that I mean that if either of you even thinks about making a break for it, he will shoot you.”

Twilight said nothing, quelling a strong nausea that had suddenly overcome her. Through her buzzing head she glanced over to Fluttershy whose eyes remained wide, frightened. Her face had drained of colour and her mouth hung agape.

“Now I’m going to let you two free, and once you’ve been unshackled I’d like you to follow me.” Dodgson motioned to some crew members who loosened the ties. Under Tembo’s imposing gaze, they shakily helped one another to their hooves.

Tembo motioned with his rifle; the pair moved slowly across the room and followed Dodgson above deck. As the pair emerged from the cabin Twilight paused, allowing herself a moment to look around. The boat itself was a small, grimy affair with half a dozen men working aboard. She looked past the vessel and at the island itself, a seemingly ordinary tropical beach in view despite the extraordinary nature of the place. The scene was picture-perfect aside from the growing weather front moving their way and a lone jeep which had made tracks on the sand and was now parked up. Two men were leafing through documents on its bonnet, and Twilight and Fluttershy recognised them as the other two of their kidnappers.

As she took a closer look, Twilight noticed the bigger man – King, if she recalled rightly – occasionally coughed hard, grabbing his midsection. Right where I kicked him yesterday...

The mares trotted out onto the beach and were ordered to stop. As two of the men hopped back into the boat Twilight could hear Dodgson – himself still aboard – arguing with what must have been the captain. Tempers flared and voices rose; at that point one of the ponies’ guards ordered them to get into the jeep. Focussing on anything else but the escalating argument on-deck they made their way up the beach, moving across the sand and arriving at the jeep. They hopped into the back as Dodgson’s insults echoed across the beach. Twilight was sure she’d never heard anyone yell “fuck you” quite so loudly...

“I don’t like this one bit,” Fluttershy whispered as the others – including the gunman, Tembo – jumped into the jeep.

“That’s not what I meant.” Fluttershy spoke quietly, quickly. She didn’t make eye contact – instead, her gaze was distant, searching. “I’m sure we’ll think of something, but, umm... This just doesn’t feel safe.”

Twilight’s breath hitched. There was something about the way she’d said it that made the acute fear inside that much more intense. What if they were being watched?

The mares jumped as the passenger door slammed. “Fucking hell,” Dodgson moaned, making himself comfortable. “Bastards want to leave tonight but that isn’t enough time. I told them eight-am tomorrow morning and they’ve only now just agreed... Anyway, Howard, got Levine’s notes?”

“All here” he said, holding up a file. “Printouts of our photos we took. Should tell us a bit about this place.”

“Uhh...” King flicked through the notes. “Well... Just follow the track for now, I’ll tell you when I find something useful.”

“Fine, fine. Before we go, let’s make sure we’ve all got the same time – could be useful later on.” He glanced at his watch. “I make it seven-oh-three, let’s go for that.” He allowed a moment as he crew adjusted their own timepieces.

“Okay George, drive on,” Dodgson called to Baselton before turning to his captives. “I’d hold on if I were you,” he smiled to Twilight and Fluttershy who honoured him with no response as the jeep pulled away from the beach and into the jungle.

It had been some five minutes since the jeep departed from Dodgson’s boat. The crew – themselves all Costa Rican natives – had packed up what equipment they could and were preparing to anchor offshore, to allow some distance between themselves and the island. They knew the myths and legends surrounding Los Cincos Muertos. They had heard the tales from their sailor friends, who reported soul-shaking screams and roars echoing from the island chain.

They had no intention of docking on the island. They would anchor in the shallows, away from the island itself but near enough to pick up Dodgson the following morning.

As they busied themselves, not one of them noticed movement in the dense undergrowth. They failed to hear the grunting and snuffling that accompanied the movement, neither did they spot the bulky form that could briefly be seen brushing against the foliage, in meaningful pursuit of the jeep.

****

The weather was closing in aboard Levine’s ferry. They had been sailing since three in the morning and as they approached eight, a weather front had grown in strength. The seas were rough and it quickly started to rain.

Malcolm and Harding were together inside the main cabin. Whilst she opted to lie down he sat, gazing idly out of the far window. Her head was in his lap, her hand holding his own.

Clearing his throat, Malcolm spoke. “Okay? Sure, at the – at the moment... I can’t say how I’ll feel when we reach the island, though. I don’t know how I’ll react.” His usual confidence of character had ebbed away since boarding the ferry. He was worried, and Harding could sense it all too well.

A grin formed as he looked away from her, continuing to cast his gaze outside. The rain had intensified; it was now lashing down quite heavily but despite this Thorne and Carr were rushing around on-deck. “Look at that,” Malcolm said with a nod to the window. “Lunacy.” The couple inside watched the two men outside move from the mobile lab to the jeep like hawks, checking and double-checking each vehicle. They were frenzied; Carr in particular looked panicked.

Harding shook her head. “How many more checks do they want to do? In weather like that?”

“The more they do, the happier I’ll be,” Malcolm replied. His gaze went from the busy activity on deck to the horizon, itself limited by fog and clouds. The more he looked into the murky abyss, the more apprehensive he became – somewhere in the fog lay Isla Sorna and the remnants of John Hammond’s great vision. Somewhere, out there, two important Equestrians were being held as captors. But perhaps most importantly, as Malcolm saw it, somewhere out there were prehistoric animals that should never have been allowed another chance to exist.

****

Since leaving the beach, Dodgson’s expedition had covered what felt like good ground. Baselton had been following a narrow dirt track through the jungle, the foliage remaining close-up against the jeep. Going was slow to begin with, the vehicle forcing its way through overgrown shrubbery but it hadn’t taken long for the track to widen out. The dense jungle pulled back allowing a wider, smoother surface and here the team were able to travel at greater speeds – something that made every soul in the jeep feel a little safer. None of them wanted to move slowly or remain stationary for too long: it spelt danger.

Immediately apprehension took hold over the entire team, each feeling uncomfortable. The four men in the jeep quickly began to discuss which route to take, anxiety prevalent in their voices. They spoke in short bursts; quickly, nervously.

For the first time since being marched to the jeep, Twilight and Fluttershy raised their heads. The pair had been curled in the back of the truck since leaving the beach – much though they had each wanted to look around and take in their surroundings, they were both aware of how dangerous that would be. The open-topped jeep offered little to no protection from anything that might attempt an attack and neither of the two friends wanted to make themselves too obviously apparent.

Despite this, the stillness of the jeep and the rising tension had made looking a necessity – nopony seemed to be on the lookout and at least this way they’d be able to see danger coming, should it show up.

“I... think so,” she replied. They were both taking deep, unsteady breaths, speaking in hushed tones. Neither pony looked at one another as they spoke, their gaze darting around.

“I don’t like staying still,” Twilight whispered. “That – and this whole place – it’s making me uncomfortable...”

Finally the two friends made eye contact as Fluttershy turned. She was sure she looked far from confident but she offered the warmest smile she could. “We’ll be okay, as long as we’re together in this.”

Twilight could only smile back. She knew Fluttershy was right, even given the unique situation they found themselves in.

The discussion in the front of the jeep had quietened; now only Dodgson and Baselton spoke, themselves quietly mulling things over. Their low hisses combined with the relaxing purr of the jeep’s engine and the calls of distant animals created a bizarrely soothing ambience. Fluttershy and Twilight remained silent, looking around at the jungle.

Slowly, and without warning, the muzzle of a rifle appeared between the pair, their breath hitching in their throats. Wide-eyed, they turned desperately to one another. The adrenaline began to pump. The presence of the rifle meant only one thing.

Twilight’s chest tightened; her breaths were shallow. Her eyes darted across the track behind them. She couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. She looked back towards Fluttershy, herself stock-still and very pale.

“We’ll be okay,” she mouthed to Fluttershy, doing her best to hold herself together.

Thirty feet behind the jeep, hidden in the dense foliage, was a large dark shape. She only recognised it as being alive when she saw movement – the shape shuffled slightly, as if spreading its weight on its legs. Twilight strained to make out any features until finally she saw it swing its head idly from side to side, two notable bony ridges rising above its eyes. She watched the beast as it then trained its snout right at the jeep, staring straight at her.

Twilight didn’t know quite how she felt. Awestruck, definitely. Awestruck, and terrified.

“...Riiight. What just happened?” Dodgson whispered briskly. He and his team had also been watching the animal.

“I’ve got a good idea what it is and if you don’t shut up you’ll only piss it off.”

“Do not move this car,” Tembo retorted. “We won’t get away fast enough.”

“Shut up, and look over there.” Tembo motioned with the rifle muzzle and once again everyone turned to look – including the two ponies.

There in the undergrowth, no less than fifteen feet from the jeep, stood the large dark shape. It was frighteningly close – not one of the six in the vehicle had anticipated it getting so close as silently as it had, but there it was, standing motionless.

Logic and reason had long since been scared out of Dodgson and his expedition. None of them made any efforts to move, run, drive away... Nothing. They could only stare at the ten foot tall animal which did little more than look right back.

Then the animal grunted, bobbing its head. Twilight caught glimpses of its shape; she noted the miniscule arms and thought she could make out part of a tail extending behind the creature but the immediately obvious features was its snout – short, stubby, filled with countless sharp teeth...

With a sudden snort the dinosaur seemed to shimmer, parts of it cutting in and out of sight. As the team struggled to see it properly, it vanished once more.

They could hear it, though. Its heavy padded footsteps, the foliage brushing against it... It was out there, somewhere, and they all knew it.

Dodgson was frantically scanning the treeline, his panicked gaze never leaving the foliage. “Go, George,” he whispered finally. “Just do it.”

“Roland I hired you as a marksman, not the expedition leader,” Dodgson seethed, his gaze darting between the gunman and the trees. He hissed, barely holding onto his panicked temper. “If I say we go, then we go—”

From the trees there came a throaty, crackling bellow and splintering brush. All six spun round immediately but it was too late; before anyone could react there was an impact and a crash. The jeep was flipped onto its side, passengers and equipment and shards of metalwork spilling out. In the daze, the team did not hear the second roar and were not prepared for the next aggressive crash, tipping the jeep completely over.

Twilight and Fluttershy had been thrown violently from the back, themselves landing some distance from the toppled truck. In the madness they quickly helped one another to their hooves and galloped to the treeline, taking shelter behind a fallen tree. Immediately, Fluttershy flicked her mane in front of her face, babbling incoherently and instinctively Twilight wrapped her forehooves around her panicked friend. The pair held their eyes tightly shut and dared not look, not once. They could only listen to the desperate cries from their captors amidst the roaring growls from the massive animal as it took heavy, padded footsteps.

And then, a harsh crack echoed out, followed by a deep gurgle. Then, a thud as something heavy hit the ground.

“Good shooting, Roland,” came Dodgson’s voice from the roadway. “He won’t bother us again.”

His words were left to echo as Twilight felt Fluttershy tense. She released her forehooves. “Fluttershy...?”

Fluttershy got to her hooves and looked towards the jeep. Straight away, the sight before her took her breath away, weighing heavily on her chest. The fact that she and Twilight were stuck on an uncharted island, hostages of a failed businessman meant nothing to her as she stared. Nothing meant anything to her – nothing except the sight of four proud men, themselves standing before a freshly downed animal, bathing in a small pool of its own blood.

Her gaze flicked from the gruesome head of the theropod – blown apart and disfigured by the rifle shot – to Dodgson, standing before the kill, smiling. The whole thing made her feel physically sick.

“Oh my...” Twilight trailed off as she stood next to Fluttershy, taking in the sight. Four men, a destroyed jeep, wreckage strewn everywhere, and a dead Carnotaurus.

Fluttershy felt her eyes sting as she remained silent. She blinked hard, fighting back the tears.

But Twilight’s words were lost on deaf ears as grief turned into an all-consuming rage.

Again came the horrid tone of Dodgson’s voice. “Come on, let’s walk from here. Anything else get too close and we can just shoot it.”

“How – How- How dare you?!” she roared, hovering towards the four men who were snapped into place by the sudden outburst. “You killed this poor animal and you don’t care at all? You could have tranquilised it at the very least but instead you kill it!? That is disgusting! How dare you—”

Another sharp crack rang out, and Fluttershy fell limply to the ground with a whelp. A dart protruded from her neck.

“That shut her up,” Dodgson smirked. “Good move Roland. I’d hate to see what we’d attract by being too loud...”

Twilight had rushed over to her unconscious friend, wrapping her hooves around her and pulling the dart out. “No no no. Fluttershy, wake up. Please wake up now, come on!”

“She’ll come round eventually,” Dodgson said simply with a wave of his hand. There was no apparent emotion in his voice. “That’s enough tranquiliser to bring a dino down, so she’ll have a good sleep. Now come on, gather what supplies we can and we’d better go—”

Some distance behind them, the jungle broke with a crash and a guttural hissing. In an instant and without really knowing what was going on, the four men were sprinting back down the track, leaving the jeep’s wreckage and crucial supplies behind.

Twilight, who had stayed at Fluttershy’s side, looked up in horror. Her blood ran cold.

Another Carnotaurus had emerged. It was much bigger than she thought it would have been. Its dark shape cast a terrifying dominant pose as it held firm, looking directly at her. Twilight felt its gaze weighing heavily upon her. She watched it standing deadly still, staring, waiting.

With a hiss it lowered its head, working its jaws once. Twilight felt her blood run cold.

She screamed, beginning to furiously heave at Fluttershy but she couldn’t move her quick enough. Her hooves fumbled; she cursed in a desperate panic. The Carnotaur was closing in – it wasn’t moving quickly but it was gaining ground – and she couldn’t see a way out.

She felt the onset of a headache, but she felt it working: her horn began to faintly glow.

FWOOSH

...

The mares re-appeared in the thick brush, some distance from the track. It had worked. The spell had worked.

Twilight panted heavily, her head throbbing. But she pushed through the pain and looked towards the track, straining - she could just see the Carnotaur come to a halt on the track. It looked around for a moment before spying its downed kin, emitting a mellow grunt. Through blurry vision she watched it nuzzle its dead partner before rising to its full height, trumpeting, and vanishing from view.

She blinked as stars came into view. Everything distorted quickly. Her head span. Then she keeled over, and was violently sick.

As she finished spewing he could faintly hear the voices of Dodgson and his crew. They were somewhere in the brush themselves, muttering about the attack. She remained silent, listening, until she could hear them moving away – she thought she heard the rifleman calling for them to move on and ‘forget the ponies’.

When she could hear the men no longer, she let out a sigh. Her eyes flicked down to the unconscious form of Fluttershy, filling her with a hollow sadness.

The sight of one of her best friends lying motionless was enough to finally break her. She had tried to remain strong through it all but now, only now, did things catch up with her. What should have been a groundbreaking expedition went disastrously wrong in a matter of hours – she’d been kidnapped and very nearly killed. She somehow cast a teleportation spell when no Unicorn should have been able to. She was stranded on an island populated with prehistoric creatures, so very far from home and her friends, with no way out. And arguably worst of all, she’d dragged Fluttershy into this horrible nightmare.

Twilight collapsed. She could take no more. She curled up against Fluttershy, and she wept.

The Lost Ponies: Jurassic Park

by CompactDisc

6 - The Lost Ponies (First Encounter)